by As you enter the maze-like gates of Al Fahidi, you’d never think you were in Dubai. There are no skyscrapers, no cars, no shopping center here: the old neighborhood is built of coral, gypsum and palm wood, unadorned except for a few curvaceous arches and hand-carved teak doors. In their yard, clouds of pink bougainvillaea welcome the sun, and elegant wind towers – no taller than two stories – funnel a lazy breeze into the houses, a design that predates modern air-con by hundreds of years.
It’s a magical scene, a glimpse of the ancient Arabian who couldn’t feel further from the cut and the glitz of modern Dubai, not to mention our own rain-soaked shores. However, Al Fahidi is indebted to Britain and the King – without anyone, he would have been lost long ago to the UAE’s infamous development plans.
In 1989, Prince Charles and Princess Diana visited Dubai on a royal tour, as did their mother Elizabeth II 10 years earlier. According to the story, Bastakiya was not included in the itinerary of the Prince of Wales, as Al Fahidi was then known, but Rayner Otter – a British architect who lives in the area – wrote to the heir apparent to invite him to his adopted, conscious neighborhood. the prince’s interest in heritage sites.
On the banks of the Creek waterway north of the city, Bastakiya dates back to the 1890s, its grand villas built by pearl traders and textile merchants who found their fortunes in the city’s souks. In fact, it was named after the Iranian city of Bastak, where many of its enterprising residents hailed from.
“We lived beautiful years here,” says Dr Eesa M Bastaki, president of Dubai University, who was born in Al Fahidi. “The whole community was interconnected. We were three families living in one big house … during the summer, we swam every day in the Creek.”
But by the 1980s, Bastakiya’s heyday was over – and its coral walls and wind towers were crumbling. Large sections had been flattened to make way for new developments, and the last remaining section was also under threat. In fact, the entire Creek area was in disrepair. “As a condition to be found in Jamaica, say,” commented a critic in The Times – but that did not stop the Prince of Wales.
At Otter’s suggestion, “Charles visited the area which was in decline and decay,” explains Todd Reisz, author of Showpiece City: How Architecture Made Dubai (Stanford, £27.99). The prince was so impressed with Bastakiya’s legacy that he is said to have urged Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, then ruler of Dubai and prime minister of the UAE, to stop the bulldozers. The finer details are few: some historians say the prince wrote a letter to the sheikh, others describe a meeting in person. But either way, the interest of the British monarch encouraged Dubai to consider the past as an asset to restore, not to raze. “You just have to visit, he is credited with personally intervening to preserve Bastakiya,” says Reisz.
In true Dubai style, the renovation of this aging quarter was transformative, with no expense spared – and, in 2012, it was renamed Al Fahidi, after an 18th-century fortress located nearby.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of Charles and Diana’s visit, but Al Fahidi is still somewhat under the radar. Most tourists wandering through its tiny sikkas (alleyways) arrive here by accident, having strayed from Al Seef – a newly built pastiche of traditional architecture that has sprung up next door, with fake lobster pots lining its streets and Starbucks to decorate it looks like it’s built of mud bricks (it’s not).
Al Fahidi is much more subtle, nicer – and it’s the real deal. At sunset, the Maghrib call to prayer echoes through the streets, the honeyed light turning golden on those wind towers. Many of its houses have been converted into museums, galleries and heritage shops; less significant, perhaps, is that most of them are oriented south-west, towards Qibla – the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, towards which Muslims pray.
Al Fahidi is only a 20-minute taxi ride from downtown’s mind-boggling skyscrapers, but it’s also a world apart – perfect for an afternoon of gentle exploration on foot. “This place gives me peace,” says Dr Bastaki, tracing his hand over the sikka walls that have witnessed Dubai’s extraordinary evolution. “It’s a testament to how lucky we are to preserve and protect our principles.” In this ever-changing city, Al Fahidi is a precious piece of the past – plucked from obscurity, thanks to the foresight of a king of the future.
How to spend an evening in Al Fahidi
From your hotel, take a taxi to the Sheikh Mohammed Center for Cultural Understanding, home to one of the most prestigious pearl merchant houses. There are fun questions and open questions over big lunches of biryanis and local curries, no questions about boundaries. The conversation ranges from Dubai’s tribal history and religious beliefs, to whether their police fleet really has a Lamborghini (does, along with Maserati, Bentley, McLaren and more).
Al Fahidi is completely pedestrianized and only a few hundred meters wide. Street art covers the walls of several sikkas, while the XVA Gallery and the Majlis Gallery showcase painting, sculpture and calligraphy by UAE artists. The former is adjacent to the XVA Art Hotel, in another historic villa, and their courtyard cafe serves cardamom-spiced coffee under a giant banyan tree. Every February, the Sikka Art & Design Festival – now in its 12th year – brings together live music, poetry readings and traditional storytelling, at events across the area.
There are no souks in Al Fahidi, but there are several small shops selling antiques and crafts: from silver coffee pots to handbags with Arabic pop art. Small museums go into niche corners of Emirati culture, such as calligraphy, coffee and traditional daggers; The second, Bayt Al Khanyar, displays black-and-white photographs of the UAE and its rulers, long before their oil bounty was discovered.
For supper, head to the Arabian Tea House Restaurant which specializes in Emirati cuisine. Try the saffron-infused karak iced tea, and tahta laham: slow-cooked lamb with raisins, yogurt and coriander. If you’re staying at the nearby XVA Art Hotel, return here for breakfast: the Emirati tray features soft home-baked flatbreads, dates and balaleet – sweet vermicelli noodles with rosewater and cinnamon.
Fundamentals
Emirates (0344 800 2777; emirates.com) flies direct to Dubai from seven UK airports, from £535 return. Doubles from XVA Art Hotel (+971 4 353 5383; xvahotel.com) are from AED585 (£126) per night, single room. For more information, see visitdubai.com.
